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The State Rooms, Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace, in London, is the official residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace
is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a
focus for the British people at times of national rejoicing and crisis.

Originally known as Buckingham House, the building which forms the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1705 on a site which had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was subsequently acquired by George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte, and known as "The Queen's House". During the 19th century it was enlarged, principally by architects John Nash
and Edward Blore, forming three wings around a central courtyard.
Buckingham Palace finally became the official royal palace of the
British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria
in 1837. The last major structural additions were made in the late 19th
and early 20th centuries, including the East front which contains the
well-known balcony on which the Royal Family traditionally congregate to
greet crowds outside. However, the palace chapel was destroyed by a
German bomb in World War II; the Queen's Gallery was built on the site and opened to the public in 1962 to exhibit works of art from the Royal Collection.

The original early 19th-century interior designs, many of which still survive, included widespread use of brightly coloured scagliola and blue and pink lapis, on the advice of Sir Charles Long. King Edward VII oversaw a partial redecoration in a Belle Époque cream and gold colour scheme. Many smaller reception rooms are furnished in the Chinese regency style with furniture and fittings brought from the Royal Pavilion at Brighton and from Carlton House. The Buckingham Palace Garden is the largest private garden in London.

The state rooms, used for official and state entertaining, are open
to the public each year for most of August and September, as part of the
Palace's Summer Opening.